...
By Michael Gallagher
Sports Content Coordinator
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
The UFC Freedom 250 card was one of, if not the most successful in company history — but it came at a price.
A steep price, at that.
The card, headlined by Justin Gaethje’s upset TKO win over then-undefeated lightweight champion Ilia Topuria, drew 34 million viewers worldwide — including 17 million views in the United States and Latin America — making it the most-watched UFC fight card in the U.S. ever, according to the UFC.
Read More on MMA
But for all the fanfare and pageantry of the event, which was hosted on the South Lawn of the White House, the UFC actually lost quite a bit of money putting on the card, according to TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of the UFC.
“Given the event’s profile, which as anticipated, resulted in an approximate $30 million loss, our margins at UFC as well as on a consolidated basis were meaningfully impacted,” TKO chief financial officer Andrew Schleimer said during a call with investors, via MMA Fighting.
...
The UFC generated no revenue from the White House event through ticket or concessions sales (tickets were not sold for the event). Freedom 250 was also streamed on Paramount+, therefore, no money was made from pay-per-view buys either.
A significant loss was expected with the White House card, which is why UFC president Dana White recently stated the event was a one-off and fans shouldn’t expect anything like that again.
“I can't afford it,” White said, via ESPN. “I'll never do the (Las Vegas) Sphere again, and we'll never do this again.”
The company did make some money from sponsorships and other brand deals, which helped offset some of the initial estimated $60 million that was expected to be lost.
Even with losing $30 million by putting on Freedom 250, the UFC is still quite profitable, according to the second-quarter financial records released by TKO Group Holdings on Monday.
According to the report, the UFC’s revenue increased $119.8 million to $535.7 million for the second quarter of 2026, and it’s up 29% year over year. A large chunk of that — $54.7 million, to be precise — came from the broadcast deal with Paramount.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines